Canadian Actress Évelyne Brochu Spills On Season 3 Of “X Company”

As the brilliant and brave Aurora Luft on CBC’s war drama series X Company, actress Évelyne Brochu plays the ultimate femme fatale. Fearless and focused, her character Aurora steals the spotlight as a female spy during World War II. Away from the screen, the beautiful and talented Brochu is also an intrepid spirit in her own right. The French-Canadian star moved to Toronto to pursue her love of acting, and has been appearing in series like Orphan Black ever since.

When we last spoke to Brochu in 2015, her hit show X Company was looking forward to its premiere. Fast forward to today, and the Canadian espionage series is entering its third and final season. With the ending of the show on the horizon, Real Style caught up with the Quebecois star about the evolution of Aurora over the years. From her experience playing a historical leading role to what to watch for in Season 3, Brochu sat down with us to discuss everything X Company.

Watch Season 3 of X Company tonight at 9 p.m. ET/9:30 p.m. NT on CBC.

Real Style: What can you tell us about your character Aurora Luft?

Évelyne: She’s a real human being. She has doubts and fears, and her passionate side can sometimes take her to places where she shouldn’t get to. Most of all, the thing I like about her that I like the most is her dedication and courage. It takes a lot out of someone to give your life to the cause. She risks everything to become a spy, and to fight in this insane war. She keeps focus, which is admirable. Also, she becomes a leader of a team of men, in 1942. It must have been even harder at that point to believe in yourself and believe that the leadership position is deserved. She’s a fictional character, but I have a lot of admiration for her, because I know that there were real women in the same position who took real risks and put their lives on the line.

Real Style: Can you identify with your character at all?

Évelyne: I don’t think I could have been a spy. I think if I had the will and the strength that she had, and the level of courage I was talking about, I would be the kind of spy that she is. I think sometimes she can be very intuitive and risk-taking. She kind of feels an opportunity and grabs it. Also, she goes on undercover missions where she has to pretend to be somebody else. There’s kind of an acting side of it, and that’s especially true this season. Every human being has this visible and invisible side. That paradox is even deeper than you’re playing a character who is playing a character.

Real Style: Describe some of the biggest challenges of starring in a war drama series set in World War II?

Évelyne: I think it’s physically challenging to constantly be on the edge of life and death. It’s nothing compared to the actual war experience of people who truly lived it. But as an actor, the beauty and thrill of it is the physical implication that brings you to the level of truth and emotion. After four months, you can only go so far on coffee!

Real Style: Tell us what sets this role apart from your other roles.

Évelyne: It’s the nature of the show, it’s an adventure drama. In itself, it demands that it’s more physically demanding. It’s more action scenes than I have ever done. Also, the show being about a team, usually it’s about a person or a couple. The centrepoint of our show is a team, and that changes all the dynamics. The themes that come from that are solidarity, relying on each other and confrontation really. When your life depends on somebody else’s actions, their actions matter to you a lot. It intensifies all the relationships.

Real Style: How has your character evolved since Season 1 of the show?

Évelyne: In Season 1, she was very green and idealistic. She was trying really hard to make sense of her training, there was something very new about it. In Season 2, she doubted herself a lot, she was a bit down and about for a while. In Season 3, there was a renewed sense of purpose and power. I also think there’s a deepening of the reasons why she’s doing it and for whom. If you’ve made so many sacrifices, there’s no turning back. All of these sacrifices had to mean something, and so you’re going ahead with even more fire.

Real Style: What can we expect on Season 3 of X Company?

Évelyne: Season 3 starts as a big party. It’s Faber’s (Torben Liebrecht) promotion party, but he’s undercover for us. I go undercover from that day on, as a German character. So we’re both on these undercover journeys, where we’re both mirroring each other’s journey of pretending to be someone else and being in danger for it. It starts in a party in Paris, and ends in a party in Berlin. That’s going to be huge. We’ve lost Tom (Dustin Milligan), and there’s a lot of pain, but we’re not spending two episodes moping around about it. We’re just jumping back into action.

Real Style: Last but not least, what do you enjoy the most about being a Canadian actress?

Évelyne: I like the sense of family and how inclusive and welcoming our sets are. I’m not from Toronto. I’m greeted with warm smiles, and I felt welcome right away in the city and with people I’ve been working with. That’s not only my experience, but the experience of many people. I think that says a lot about the value behind these shows and this industry, and that’s what I want to celebrate. I was working in French, they could have said “we don’t know your work”, but it was fast and friendly.

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